yeah, i feel sorry for the girls, not that much for the boys. >> reporter: do you think they should be expelled? >> they should be more than expelled. it's a serious crime. if they were 18 or above, they could go to jail for this. >> reporter: the six victims go to several schools, including west springfield. the investigation started on november 29 when someone tipped off the school's resource officer who is a fairfax county police officer. he initiated an investigation and that investigation continues. more charges could come. in springfield, peggy fox, wusa9. virginia state lawmakers had a busy money full of bill proposals. here are a few which are up for debate. the house of delegates has passed legislation that would assign a through f letter grades to public schools. senate democrats have delayed new voter identification restrictions for another year. the senate rejected legislation which would require welfare recipients to undergo drug screening, a senate committee

has reported a two-year ban on the use of spy drones by police and government agencies, and another senate committee rejected legislation which would have expanded background checks at gun shows. president obama was in minnesota yesterday promoting his gun control proposals. during a stop in minneapolis, the president said congress appears to be coming to a consensus on new background checks for gun buyers and also limiting those high capacity gun clips, the ammunition clips. he also wants them to pass an assault weapons ban. a bipartisan group of house members are going to introduce their own gun control legislation which could make gun trafficking a federal offense but it does not address the assault weapons in it. the president also signed a bill into law which temporarily suspends the government's borrowing limit which means they can borrow more money to pay its debt to prevent on defaulting on loans at least for a few more months. but it sets the stage for another political battle over

taxing and spending. officials are now offering a theory as to what happened during the super bowl. shortly into the 3rd quarter, half the lights in the super dome went out. it brought the game to a screeching halt for 35 minutes. the system sensed an abnormality and shut down by design but they would not say what it was. even with the blackout and the 35-minute stoppage, super bowl xlvii was the third most watched program in television history. an estimated 108.4 million people watched the baltimore ravens defeat the san francisco 49ers. both the 2010 and the 2011 super bowl games hit the 111 million mark. of course in 2010 it was new orleans. yay. today baltimore will welcome home its champion ravens with a parade downtown. it begins at 10:45 at city hall and ends at m&t bank stadium.

wusa9 will live stream the event on our website on wusa9.com. after tonight's 7:00 newscast, stay on for "game on, purple reign." officials stormed that underground bunker ending that week-long standoff. it started when the man shot and killed a bus driver and grabbed a 5-year-old from the bus and took him hostage. the boy is safe with his mother at a hospital. the suspect 65-year-old jimmy lee dykes was shot dead. they made the decision to take the suspect when negotiations deteriorated and they saw him carrying a gun. a bipartisan group of alabama lawmakers has prepared legislation which would clear the names of the scotts borrow boys. in 1931 nine black teenagers were charged with raping two white women in paint rock, alabama. they were tried and convicted in scottsboro.

82 years later, it's widely known they did not commit the crimes. only one of the boys was formerly pardoned while he was still alive. the black daughter of former south carolina senator strom thurmond has died at age 87. thurmond who was a staunch segregationist fathered a child with his family's black made and kempt her secret for more than -- kept her secret for more than 70 years. essie mae washington-williams did not reveal who her father was until he died. she said she doesn't want to damage his political career. fred lick douglas -- frederick douglas will find a home at the u.s. capitol. congress approved a resolution to move the douglas statue to

statuary hall. it will be dedicated in february for black history month. it is just about 4:35. 37 degrees as you're waking up here in northwest. wintry weather is expected, at least to the areas north and west of the city. howard is back in two minutes to tell you what you can expect. >> more americans have begun to add gas into their family's monthly budget. >> mini seems to be the trend when it comes to fast food. >> wusa9 is back in two minutes when it comes to

welcome back. 4:37. your weather first. a chilly morning out there. 20s and 30s to start. we are going to see partly to mostly cloudy but milder day today. low 40s up north. we'll top 50 places like

fredricksburg and culpeper. we'll be in the mid-40s with a few flurries possible tonight. back in a few minutes with the full seven-day forecast. right now tomb tap has time -- right now monika samtani has timesaver traffic. no issues right now. all lanes open between the beltway and here at poet toe macriver and -- potomac river and 14th street bridge. all the potomac and anacostia bridges are incident free right now. i'll be back in a few. back to you guys. >> thank you, monika. it is 4:38. time for the first your money segment of the morning. >> headline time. >> good morning to both of you. we've had huge rallies so far this year. we had a big loss, biggest loss of the year on concerns about europe. a banking scandal hit italy weeks. despite the concerns it seems more investors are returning to the stock market. vanguard is the biggest mutual fund company. it says it received a record 24.3 billion from clients last

month alone. most of that money was poured into stock funds. vanguard says signs of an improving u.s. economy have convinced investors to return to stocks. not a lot of -- [ inaudible ] the dow slid 129 points. nasdaq lost 48 and s&p 500 was down by over 17. a new government report finds u.s. households spend an average of 2900 on gas last year. that's the most in four years. but despite spending more money, the government says americans are actually buying less gas because they're driving more fuel efficient vehicles. the world's largest hamburger chain has realed in new fish. mcdonalds selling fish mcbites. this is the only fish my daughter will actually eat. you can order the bite size cod filets in a standard or happy

meal. they will be available through march to coincide with lent. and pizza hut has introduced pizza platters. they're smaller than a personal pan pizza and can be ordered in customized batches with your favorite toppings. you can buy them by the box. nine for $10 or three for $5. they help the mini pies will lead to growth in sales. how does free we fi sound to -- wie fi sound to you? the warktd post says the -- "the washington post" says the signal would be strong. americans could search the internet. you probably wouldn't be surprised to know the phone companies, the at&ts, the verizons ever the world not so happy about this idea so they are lobbying against it. >> i'm still back on the mini pizzas and sliders. >> as a kid we used to make english muffin pizzas. that's what i thought of. >> they have the bagel bite

pizzas. >> here we are again talking about food. >> thanks, jess. >> you got it. >> remember, don't eat all nine yourself. share it with someone. maybe. >> too late. 4:51 now. texting while driving in virginia could cost you a lot more out of your pocket soon. >> your commute along the popular toll road in our region is about to get a lot faster. wusa9 is back in two minutes with more on those stories and your weather first with howard.

good morning. welcome back to wusa9 on this tuesday morning. our time is about 4:43. howard is here. it's a little warmer today than it was yesterday. i saw a guy walking in as i was coming into the parking garage in shirt sleeves. >> really? >> i don't know if he had been drink glg but this morning there -- drinking. >> but this morning there isn't the bite in the air. >> a lot of temps are above

freezing this hour. we're going into the 40s today. >> but you still need a jacket. >> i don't know what i was thinking. >> or what he was drinking. >> the way i'm feeling with this cold, get me one or two. let's get you going on this tuesday. is it only tuesday? it's tuesday morning. we don't like tuesdays. we've got temperatures this morning starting in the 30s and 40s. there's your day planner. we'll get into the mid-40s this afternoon. i should say 20s and 30s to start. we'll get into the 40s. 44 by 1:00. fredricksburg, culpeper, you guys down there, you'll get 50, 52 this afternoon. a little mader than the rest of us. last night we talk -- milder than the rest of us. last night we talked about the floweries and snow showers. -- flurries and snow showers. they stayed in the mountains. that system has pushed east of us. the problem around here for snow lovers, the air was very, very dry. the moisture just evaporated

before reaching the ground. 30 degrees in college park and bowie and north beach. we've got 30 in dumfries. 31 for centreville. freezing in leesburg and 29 in germantown. outside on our michael&son weather camera, good visibility once again on this tuesday morning with partly cloudy skies. mike was talking about it. there's no wind out there. winds are calm so the dew point 24. the windchill the same with the calm winds. we have cold air up across the northern plains and the northeast, northern new england. single digits and teens. but the rest of the country relatively mild. we talked about it yesterday with the zonal flow that's happening. when you talk about the winds and the clouds moving west to east. these are fast moving systems. the cold air gets bottled up in canada. it's really cold. there are areas north of lake superior that are in the minus 20, minus 30 range in canada. it's going to get cut off.

this is our next clipper system. a lot of that energy will pass to our north. we may see a couple of flurries from that tonight. that's it, though. a relatively quiet weather pattern. show you the futurecast. snow showers up across pennsylvania will quickly scoot east by lunch time. we'll stay partly to mostly cloudy today. some sunny breaks. we'll end up with more clouds than sunshine. tonight will be another partly cloudy to mostly cloudy night. snow showers in the mountains. good news for the skiers. tomorrow we'll turn sunny, temperatures well up into the 40s. a little breezy tomorrow. as we head into thursday, not much change. i think so rain by friday. high temperatures today mid-40s in d.c. but there are your low 50s fredricksburg, culpeper, even sneaking up toward manassas about 50. lower 40s frederick and winchester. potentially only 39 in hagerstown. here is our forecast. this ought to be better. 46 degrees this afternoon. milder than yesterday when we stayed in the 30s. tonight we're in the upper 20s and low 30s.

tomorrow 46 but it's going to be breezy on wednesday. increasing clouds thursday, 47. friday a pretty good chance of some showers and rain around here. the weekend mid-40s on saturday. low 50s sunday and more rain returns on monday. let's check in with monika samtani. she's got timesaver traffic this tuesday morning. >> thank you so much, howard. good morning, everybody. it's tuesday morning. compared to yesterday, you're definitely going to find a lot more volume early on this morning. no excuses today. everyone is heading on out early. the bw parkway and route 30 look good through cheverly. a lot of people heading out from the 11th street bridge and heading northbound early but no big problems to report. we'll go to the beltway in college park. the outer loop up here heading around to the 95 interchange into silver spring. everything looks great. back to the maps it time we'll head over to the southern side of maryland. route 4, route 5, 301, everything looks good heading

toward andrews air force base and southbound toward oxon hill. we'll take a live look on the northbound side of 59 in woodbridge. -- of 95 in woodbridge. things are looking good. no problems to the 14th street bridge. speaking of virginia texting while driving may soon cost more in the state. it's currently a secondary offense which means police can only write you ticket if they stop you for another violation. it also carries a $20 fine but the proposal would make texting while driving a primary offense and increase the fine to $250. it was approved yesterday by a state senate committee. a similar bill is moving through the house of delegates. the speed limit on the intercounty connector is going up. the maryland transportation authority will increase it from 55 to 60 miles per hour in march. drivers have long complained that 55 is too slow on a brand new road with so little traffic. the mta says the study found the road can safely handle the increased speed limit. outgoing secretary of

transportation ray lahood is providing more money to the sandy relief effort. $2 billion will be used to help repair transit damaged by hurricane sandy. the money will be used for repairs and reimbursement areas damaged during superstorm sandy. some much needed help could be coming to d.c. hospitals. council chair fill mendelson introduced something called the patient protect act. it would require hospitals to keep a minimum nurse to patient ratio. more than half of d.c. nurses responding to a 2012 survey said the hospital staffing is inadequate. >> i think this bill is common sense. i think this bill is today's version of the eight-hour day. >> mendelson also says the bill will include a whistle blower protection for nurses who report unsafe conditions without fear of being terminated from their job.

the bill is molded after a california law which was established nine years ago. doctors say the sun may help prevent rheumatoid arthritis in women. researchers followed more than 120,000 nurses in the u.s. for more than 30 years. they found those who spent a lot of time soaking in ultraviolet b rays had a 21% lower risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. the sun helps the body produce vitamin d which helps keeps bones healthy. of course you still have to protect yourself with sunscreen against the deadly rays. television may hurt a man's chances of fathering a child. researchers at the university of rochester found young men who watch 20 hours of television a week have a much lower sperm count than their counterparts. resevers say men can improve their counts significantly if they exercise at least 15 hours a week. a study in the joinal of the american -- journal of the american medical association finds men would take vitamin c supplements are twice as likely

to develop kidney stones and calcium supments can increase heart disease in men. and with more and more patients in need of specialized care, doctors are beginning to turn to technology to be in more than one place at a time. >> wusa9's anita brikman has more on one of the best advances ever in telemedicine. >> reporter: dr. paul has an unusual way of making his rounds at ronald reagan ucla medical center. he uses a robot to check in on his patients, a camera mounted on his computer sends a live picture of himself to the patient and he uses a joy stick to control the robot's movement. >> i want you to do a couple of things for me. hold your hands way up in the air for me. >> reporter: 27-year-old kevin was admitted to intensive care for bleeding in his brain. doctors have examined him in person but he also has periodic

vehicle sits from the robot. >> i -- visits from the robot. i think it's pretty cool. it's the next best thing to having a doctor come in and talk to you. he can see you. >> right now we have tremendous delays in our health care delivery largely because we don't have enough physicians in enough locations. so this could really revolutionize the distribution of patients to physicians. >> tomorrow we'll start getting you up moving around. >> reporter: he also uses the robot to visit other patients at other hospitals in california and even around the world. >> that was anita brikman reporting. more than 700 of these robots are in hospitals around the country and doctors can even control them from their home. british scientists have made an amazing discovery. they found the 500-year-old remains of the last english monarch to die in battle. you'll never believe where one

group of archaeologists found the remains of a man who was vilified by william shakespeare. it is just about 4:53. let's take a look at the question of the morning. what is the number one thing most women say they wish their man's mother had taught him? is it a, how to put down the toilet seat, b, how to iron clothes, or c, how to ask for directions? >> it has got to be c. it's got to be c. log on to our wusa9 facebook fan page. leave your response. i saw a sign yesterday that said a man invented gps to avoid asking directions. we'll have the answer in our

. welcome back. your weather first. we've had snow in the

mountains. grant county, west virginia on a two-hour delay. we'll have a mix of clouds and sunshine. a milder day. mid-40s should do it for highs in d.c. this afternoon, although some in our southern suburbs will make a run toward the 50-degree mark. now over to monika with timesaver traffic. taking a look at 270 on the southbound side coming in from frederick down to falls road and the point where the lanes divide. no delays on 355 to germantown or the great seneca highway as well. i'll be back with more at 5:01. >> thank you, monika. the group raise d.c. is setting higher goals to d.c.'s youth. they want to boost the percentage of high school graduates in four years. the goal is 75% by the year 2017. it's a partnership of public, private and nonprofit groups assembled by d.c. mayor vincent greater. mayor gray formed the partnership to help improve the lives of the city's youngest residents. super bowl sunday has come and gone for many of you that's

a big letdown. this sunday there will still be another big night right here on wusa9. the 55th annual grammy awards. sting is going to perform. he will be there with bruno mars and rihanna. kelly clarkson is going to be on stage as well. super bowl half time performer beyonce is one of the presenters so you don't want to miss it. the 55th grammy awards next sunday on wusa9. it starts at 8:00. speaking of the super bowl, it's always a plus for business and especially if you sell ravens merchandise. but for one baltimore furniture store, one play during super bowl's game sunday meant taking a half million dollar hit. >> but here's the kicker. they're actually happy about it. debra alfarone tells us about the store and how 600 baltimore ravens fans might be sitting in a brand new living room for free. >> past the 50. >> reporter: how does this. >> inside the 20. a kickoff return, 109 yards and

a touchdown. >> reporter: turn into this? again, an end zone dance into end tables for everyone? gardner's furniture, a baltimore-based family-owned furniture chain is giving away more than a half million dollars of couches and coffee tables. but there's a catch. >> you had to come in thursday, friday, saturday or sunday and we cut it off at 3:00. >> reporter: that's gary. his uncle started the store 72 years ago but the last three they've run a promotion. if the ravens run back either the opening kickoff or the second half kickoff for a touchdown, they'll let you have it for free. it's not just the ravens who are winners. 624 customers are too. >> i don't thing anybody included myself expected kobe jones to run back the kickoff. not only that, the ravens won the game too which was the icing on the cake. >> reporter: you might wonder why give away more than half million dollars of this, this and this. i always wanted to do that. they say it was worth it.

>> they'll tell stories to all their friends that it was a great experience. it's a win for us and a win for our customers. >> reporter: they bought insurance so they're not out the half mill. they're only out the premium which he calculates is between $8,000 and $10,000. not bad for some free publicity on news station after news station all over the country good i guess this is our 15 mince of fame. >> reporter: debra alfarone, wusa9. >> not a bad deal. how about that. >> we could use a few things. >> over 600 pieces. >> okay, next year. good morning. thank you for watching wusa9 at 5:00 a.m. i'm andrea roane. seriously, you think behind the scenes those furniture people are going, somebody tackle him, stop. >> they paid their insurance premiums. they were probably rooting for the guy. >> good morning. happy for the ravens of